It's Easier to Give Up
It's Easier to Give Up
The next day.
"...So the man who threw the grenade in the square was the company commander who planned my assassination? The one who slipped away like an eel when his entire company was captured?"
Daniel, having heard Lucy's report in his office, asked in bewilderment.
Lucy silently gazed at the questioning Daniel before answering.
"That is correct. Were you not aware?"
There was no way he could have known.
Daniel had simply visited the café to pet dogs and cats and find some comfort when he got swept up in the incident.
But telling the truth here was clearly the worst possible move.
'Because Lucy would hate that.'
If he said he had simply gone to have fun without any plan and happened to run into the enemy, he would certainly get an earful.
Since what was done could not be undone, Daniel decided to accept it humbly.
"...Of course I knew. This is as good as having captured the enemy company entirely."
"Yes. It will also have sounded an alarm to any subversive elements that may still be lurking in the city. We've decisively shown them the consequences of opposing the Division Commander."
Though that hadn't been his intention.
"It's good news that the enemy fears me. More importantly, what about that company commander? What became of him?"
"As he appeared to be injured, Captain Frien is currently administering treatment on humanitarian grounds. He refused, but he never had a choice to begin with."
He decided not to ask what kind of treatment it was.
'Should I consider it fortunate that the matter has been settled...?'
As he was deliberating whether to be pleased or not, Lucy spoke up as if she had just remembered something.
"Ah. Now that I recall, a civilian came by just a moment ago seeking an audience with you, Division Commander. They pleaded to meet you, so I've shown them to the reception room for now."
"A civilian? To see me?"
"Yes. Shall I tell them to leave if you're too busy with work?"
Daniel thought for a moment, then shook his head.
"Coming all this way to a city hall occupied by the Imperial Army must have taken tremendous courage and resolve. They must have something they absolutely need to tell me. I shall go and listen."
A faint smile lingered on Lucy's lips at Daniel's reply.
"Understood. I will go ahead and tell them to wait just a little longer."
*
After finishing the paperwork he had been working on, Daniel lightly adjusted his attire and visited the reception room.
When he opened the door and stepped inside, he saw a middle-aged man and a young child seated on the sofa.
As he observed them and identified the child, Daniel found himself smiling involuntarily.
'It's the child I saved yesterday.'
Then the man sitting beside her must be the child's father.
His heart warmed at the thought that they had come to express their gratitude.
As he approached with a lighter heart, the middle-aged man sensed his presence and rose from his seat.
"Ah! You must be General Daniel."
The man was striking, with his swept-back hair and a mustache.
The man, wearing square horn-rimmed glasses, bowed his head deeply.
"Thank you so much for what you did the other day. Had it not been for you, General Daniel, my daughter would have lost her life. According to witnesses, you saved my daughter without a moment's hesitation. Even though, from your perspective, she would be nothing more than a child of an enemy nation."
As the man showed his courtesy, Daniel waved his hand dismissively as if it were no great matter.
"It's nothing worth thanking me for. Isn't saving a child the responsibility of an adult? I merely did what should be done. This simple moral duty knows no borders, does it?"
The man slowly raised his head and looked at Daniel as if surprised.
"Merely what should be done. It seems the rumors circulating among the public are indeed not to be trusted."
In truth, rumors that Daniel Steiner was a man as cruel and merciless as a demon had spread widely throughout the streets.
The man had believed those rumors as well, but upon learning yesterday that Daniel Steiner had saved his daughter, his opinion had completely changed.
Though he might be a general of an enemy nation, he was undoubtedly a good man.
Overwhelmed by these unfamiliar feelings, the man gazing at Daniel suddenly seemed to remember something and took a business card from his breast pocket.
"Ah, yes. I haven't introduced myself yet. This is my card."
Daniel, who took the card without much thought, froze.
───────────────
Chairman of the Lakedrapol Academic and Cultural Research Association
[Meranto Bariasa]
Specialization: History / Education
Affiliation: Director of the Historical Research Institute under the Republic Academy of Sciences
Current Post: Branch Manager of the National Socialist Teachers' Union
───────────────
It was because the man's identity was far more prominent than he had imagined.
With such a position, he was a figure who could wield strong influence within Lakedrapol.
Realizing he had saved the daughter of such a man gave him an inexplicable sense of foreboding.
When Daniel finished reading the card and looked up, Meranto smiled a warm, genial smile.
"I'm not sure if you're aware, General, but there have been unsavory rumors circulating among the so-called intellectuals, including professors. Saying that you are a very bad person."
"...That wouldn't be incorrect. I have slaughtered countless Republican soldiers, after all."
"No. The General I have personally experienced is closer to a good man than a wicked one. Furthermore, if a soldier killing enemy soldiers is a sin, where in this world can you find someone who is not a sinner?"
He was wrong.
Perhaps because he had saved his daughter, Meranto completely trusted Daniel.
"The truly wicked man is the Republican company commander who tried to ensure his own survival by sacrificing my daughter. He is no different from trash, lacking any pride or sense of responsibility as a soldier."
Meranto bit his lip as if indignant and let out a low sigh.
"However, thanks to General Daniel, my daughter has been given a new lease on life. To repay the kindness I have received, I intend to dedicate my time to improving your public image, General."
Hoping desperately that he wouldn't do that, Daniel shook his head.
"There is no need for that. As I said earlier, I merely did what was expected."
"Yes. As you merely did what was expected, General, could you not regard my actions as merely doing what is expected as well? I must repay the kindness I received in any way I can."
The very man who had originally been at the forefront of criticizing the Imperial Army had now changed his stance because of yesterday's incident.
It wasn't that he couldn't understand.
If a Republican soldier had tried to sacrifice his daughter, and the very person who saved her was Daniel Steiner, leading the Imperial Army, then a change of heart was inevitable.
The problem was that if Daniel Steiner's image improved within Lakedrapol because of Meranto, his dream of a rear-echelon posting would fly far, far away.
Swallowing hard, Daniel nodded as if he understood for the time being.
"I won't stop you, but there is truly no need to dedicate your time to me. More importantly, I have matters to attend to and must take my leave now. Is that alright?"
"Ah, ah. Of course. I cannot express how grateful I am that you took time from your busy schedule to show your face. Rabi? Dear, shouldn't you thank the benefactor who saved your life?"
At Meranto's words, Rabi rose from the sofa and bowed her head deeply toward Daniel.
Daniel smiled at Rabi, bid them farewell, and hurried away.
After walking down the long corridor, he reached the office where Pelf, the intelligence staff officer, worked.
When he opened the door and went inside, the soldiers and officers hastily rose from their seats.
"Division Commander!"
"What brings you here...?"
Ignoring their murmuring, Daniel walked straight to where Pelf was.
Pelf, who had been working on his tasks, spotted Daniel and hastily got up from his seat.
"Division Commander? What brings you here?"
Daniel spoke without even pausing for breath.
"Information control is needed. It's an urgent matter. Regarding what happened yesterday, when I saved that child..."
"Pardon? Ah. If that's what you mean, it's already been printed in the daily newspaper."
"...Excuse me?"
As Daniel stood there bewildered, Pelf began his explanation.
"It seems there was a reporter nearby when you saved the child yesterday, Division Commander. A photograph of you holding the child with grenade shrapnel embedded in your shoulder made the front page of the newspaper. I was just reading it—shall I show you?"
As Daniel nodded, Pelf gathered up the newspaper and handed it to him.
He took the paper and examined the front page; it was exactly as Pelf had said.
【Republican Soldier Who Sacrificed a Child, and Imperial Army Division Commander Who Saved the Child】
Having read the headline, Daniel lowered the newspaper with a despondent heart.
An article this favorable to the Imperial Army? No matter how he looked at it, this seemed to bear the influence of Meranto, whom he had just seen in the reception room.
'Damn it...'
While Daniel wore a stunned expression, Pelf added cheerfully.
"Ever since this article was published, the city hall phones have been ringing off the hook. Hundreds of calls, from those asking to verify the facts to government officials requesting to return and cooperate with the Division Commander."
It was terrifying.
"This must also be part of the plan you orchestrated, Division Commander. To turn the public sentiment of Lakedrapol around in a single day—it's an idea I can't even dream of following. I am truly in awe."
It was a misunderstanding.
But now he didn't even feel like explaining.
At this rate, he would not only be selected as the occupation zone commander but would also have to continue serving as a frontline commander afterward.
His dream of a rear-echelon posting had been utterly shattered.
Daniel laughed as if he had reached enlightenment and trudged over to the window.
With his hands clasped behind his back, Daniel looked out the window and thought.
'Cut the bullshit. Seriously...'
He tried desperately to deny it, but reality wouldn't change.
It was a winter that warmed everyone's heart—except Daniel's.